The Glory After Rebirth [重生之尊荣]

Chapter 172- 174

Chapter 172: Ungrateful and Treacherous?

The unpleasant incident at the gateway of the imperial palace soon seemed to be forgotten. Even the envoys of the Wan Kingdom lapsed into silence after entering the palace, clearly having no intention to bring up this occurrence.

The venue for the welcome reception was the Taiqing Palace, which was rather spacious. In the normal course of events, only on an important festival would this palace be used for a banquet, but evidently Yuwen Tong was an exception. The reason why he was given such honor was not only because of his identity but also his victory in this war. He had taken seven cities of the Wan Kingdom at one fell swoop, and the Wan Kingdom had even sent a diplomatic corps here to sue for peace with their tails between their legs, which had gladdened the hearts of all subjects of the Great Yue. During these years, as a result of incessant wars, the exchequer of the Great Yue had almost been depleted. Now, with this great victory, they could finally relax safe. In this regard, the emperor of the Great Yue was the most delighted one of all.

By the time Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong arrived, more than half of the attendees had been seated. Naturally, the two of them attracted the attention of almost everybody present when they walked inside. Yuwen Tong was handsome, stalwart and tall, and Ling Zhang was of great presence. The two of them walking hand in hand was such a pleasant sight that many guests were thrown into amazement.

However, some others were not very pleased to see this. Yuwen Zhi's face darkened. Yuwen Qi was rooted to the spot by shock, feeling that Yuwen Tong was out of his mind. Only Yuwen Feng, with a surprised and thoughtful look on his face, rose to his feet and walked up to Yuwen Tong to greet him. "Cousin."

Yuwen Tong inclined his head.

Smiling, Yuwen Feng looked at Ling Zhang and said, "This must be Childe Ling, I suppose?"

Ling Zhang folded his hands in front, "Yes, nice to meet you."

Yuwen Feng also made the same gesture of courtesy and said with a smile, "I'm Yuwen Feng. I've been hearing people talking about you for quite some time. Today I finally saw you in the flesh. For fear that you might be embarrassed, my cousin refused to let us visit you, which made all of us quite anxious. My father and my younger brother are also here. Would you like to meet them, Childe Ling?"

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head and replied, "It's common courtesy to pay respects to my elder."

Yuwen Feng led him to Yuwen Zhi and introduced him. "Father, this is Childe Ling. You've been looking forward to seeing him, haven't you?"

"I'm Ling Zhang. It's an honor to meet you, Lord Yuwen." Ling Zhang made a bow with hands folded in front to show respect.

Unsurprisingly, Yuwen Zhi was not as enthusiastic as Yuwen Feng. With a lukewarm look on his face, he flicked Ling Zhang a glance, blandly uttered "Um" and then ignored him, which was an unmistakable indication that he held Ling Zhang in icy disregard.

Yuwen Feng's face changed. It had never crossed his mind that even on such an occasion when so many people were present, his father still refused to take into consideration of Ling Zhang's feelings. Seeing Yuwen Tong walking in this direction with a sullen countenance, he hurriedly introduced Yuwen Qi in an attempt to defuse this awkward situation. "This is my younger brother, Yuwen Qi. He's about your age. I think the two of you will get along quite well."

Ling Zhang secretly sneered. 'Get along quite well?'

Seeing his father's lukewarm attitude, Yuwen Qi, who didn't feel like talking to Ling Zhang, directly disregarded him as well. He even said, "Elder Brother, you should think twice before bringing people to father. Do you not know that father doesn't have the time to talk with a nobody?"